Mounting for rocket launchers



Oct. 30, 1951 c. D. GRAHAM MOUNTING FOR ROCKET LAUNCHERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET1 Filed March 8, 1945 INVENTOR.

Oct. 30, 1951 Filed March 8, 1945 C. D. GRAHAM MOUNTING FOR ROCKETLAUNCHERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 )0 INVENTOR- %9% Patented Oct. 30, 1951MOUNTING FORv ROCKET LAUNCHERS Charles D-.. Graham, Dayton, Ohio,assignor to. General. Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware Application March 8, 1945, Serial No. 581,603

8- Claims. 1. This invention relates to ordnance and more particularlyto a rocket type of gun for use in bomber planes and the like;

It is an object of this invention to so construct and arrange the partsof a rocket type of gun that it may be mounted within the radio or tailcompartment of a, plane with the ends of the gun projecting throughopenings in the walls of the compartment.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel mountingarrangement which conserves on space and simplifies sealing the openingsthrough which the gun projects.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangementwhich facilitates the loading of projectiles into the breech of the gun.Still another object of this invention is to so construct and arrangethe gun and the projectile loading apparatus that one individual canload projectiles into the breech without any difiiculty.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved closurestructure for closing the openings in the fuselage through which. theends of the gun project.

A further object. of this invention is to provide a. simplifiedarrangement for supplying electrical energy through the wall of the gunor launching tube for controlling the launching of the proj'ectiles.

Still another object of. this invention is to providea. gun constructionin which improved safety means are. provided for preventing mishaps andpremature firing of projectiles.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for preventingpremature closing of the breech during loading.

Further objects and advantages of, the present invention will. beapparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form. of the presentinvention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: Y

Fig. 1 is a pictorial, view, somewhat diagrammatic, showing thearrangement of a rocket launching mechanism disposed within the radiocompartment of a bomber plane;

Fig. 2 shows a slightly modified arrangement for; mounting a rocketlaunching device within the tail compartment of a bomber;

Fig. 3 isa fragmentary view showing the, details of. the breech used ina of the type shown Fig. 41 is afragmentary sectional view showing mentused for conducting electrical energy through the wall of the breech;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig.2'; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig.2.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings wherein I have shown an improvedarrangement for mounting a rocket or open breech type of gun within anairplane, reference numerals Ill and I2 designate the top and bottomwalls of an airplane's fuselage. Reference numerals I4", Hiand I8designate the main barrel, the breech tube sections and the blast tube,respectively, ofthe gun. The blast tube 3- and the main barrel orlaunching tube l4 are connected by a rigid member 19 which maintains thetube sections in alignment. The breech sections I6 are pivotally mountedby any suitable means such as hinges 20', so as to swing in and out ofalignment with the firing tube and the blast tube. Two breech sectionsare provided so that one may be loaded while the other is in use. Thelower hinges have been broken away to better illustrate other details.

The upper end of the gun is mounted for traverse crosswise of the planewhereas the lower end of the. gun is mounted. for traverse lengthwise ofthe plane. Thus, the upper end of the gun is pivotally connected to abracket 24 which is adapted to move from side to side with the shaft 26.The shaft 26 is provided with a pair 01' pinions 28 which cooperate withthe curved rack sections 30 in the manner indicated. The shaft 26 andthe pinions 28 are rotated. by a drive motor 32 which may be a,reversible. electric motor, a reversible hydraulic motor, or the like.The curved racks 30. may be suspended from the ceiling. l0. by anysuitablemeans such, as the brackets 34 which are arranged as shownvRotation of the shaft 26 causes the upper end, of the gun to movetransversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the plane. The lowerend of the gun is pivotally supported. on. the movable carriage 38 whichis adapted totraverse along, the curved track 40. The carriage 38- isprovided, with a pair of slotted brackets such as the bracket 4,2 shownin. Fig, 1, each of which cooperates with a. pivot. pin such as the pin44; carried by the blast. tube 1.8;, for

Thus when the motor 32 causes lateral movement of the upper end of thegun, the gun pivots about the oppositely projecting pins 44 which aresupported by the slotted bracket elements 42.

result that operation of the chain 52 by the motor 50 causes the lowerend of the rocket gun to swing longitudinally within the fuselage of theplane.

As the lower end of the gun thus swings longitudinally within the planeit pivots about the pin 25 carried by the bracket 24. The curved track40 is secured to the support 46 by suitable bracket means 4! arranged asshown.

The bottom wall or floor I 2 of the plane is provided with a slot Iwithin which the lower end of the gun maybe moved. Anarticulated'closure member I2 which is secured to the blast tube t? by means of abellows I4 or other suitable flexible connection, moves with the blasttube I8 so as to keep the opening I0 closed. A'guard I serves to coverand guide the'closure member I2. member I2 is preferably made up in theform of a plurality of metal slats which are connected together in thesame manner as the slats which make up the closure member of a roll topdesk. The ends of the articulated member I2 are fastened to canvasstrips 16 which are adapted to be rolled up on rollers I8 arranged asshown for taking up any slack in the canvas. A similar but smallerarticulated closure member BI] is secured to the upper end of thegun'for closing the opening 82 in the top wall of the gun. Referencenumerals'84 designate rolls at the ends of the member 80.

=- 'The closure arrangement described hereinabove has the advantage ofproviding a substantially smooth uninterrupted exterior surface and atthe same time has adequate strength to withstand the forces resultingfrom pressures builtup during flight and during firing .of the gun. Therollers used for'rolling up thecanvas ends are of the type generallyused for this purpose and act much the same as window curtain rollers inthat a spring (not shown) is provided for causing the rollers to roll upany loose canvas. Inasmuch as rollers'of this type, are well known theart, and inasmuch as the, specific roller structure per se does not forma part of this invention, the rollers have not been shown or describedin detail.

The breeches are designed so that the projectiles may be dropped inthrough the upper ends thereof for loading the gun. A pivoted end cap 86is provided adjacent the lower end of each breech tube and is arrangedto be directly in line with the breech tube whenthe breech tube is swunginto the shell loading position as shown in Fig. 1. Each of thecaps ispivotally supported adjacent the upper end of-the blast tube l8 as shownand is adapted to be controlled by a pivotedhand lever 88 which operatesa reciprocating rod 90 which moves the attached cap member into and outof closed position relative to its breech section; The arrangement ofeach handle is such that it obstructs the upper end of its relatedbreech tube so as to prevent loading a projectile into the breech tubeexcept when the handle'has been moved upwardly'rar enough to cause thecap 86 operated thereby to move into fully closed position so that thecap seals the lower end of the breech. By virtue of the above describedarrangement, it is impossible to feed the projectile into the breechsection unless the end cap 86 is in the fully closed position and whenthe end cap 86 is in its fully closed position it seals the lower end ofthe breechsection so that upon lowering a projectile into the breechsection an air cushion is formed at the lower end of the projectilewhich prevents too rapid dropping of the projectile. The clearancebetween the projectile and the inner wall of the breech tube issufficient to allow a small amount of air .to escape past the projectilewith the result that breech tube for holding the projectile in thebreech after the end cap is moved out of seal- The ing engagement withthe breech. This shear pin holds the projectile in its proper positionuntil the projectile is fired. The shear pin 9| does not shear duringnormal operation of the gun but in the event of a defectiveprojectilewhich bursts so as to send a portion of the projectile through the blasttube and another portion of the projectile through the barrel, the shearpin shears so as to allow the projectile to leave the breech before toohigh a pressure is built up in the breech. The shear pins 9| are adaptedto-be replaceable in the event of such a mishap.

Each breech is adapted to be latched in the closed position by means ofa latch element .92, one of which is carried by each breech. The latchelements 92 are in the formof'long rods slidably carried by the breechwith the upper and lower ends adapted to engage within the latch keepers94 in accordance with well known practice. The lower end of each'latchelement isdesigned to operate a switch 96 locatedv directly'in line withthe bottom keeper 94. The switch 96 is arranged inthe firing circuit sothat the gun cannot befired unlessone of the latch elements 92 has beenfully moved into breech locking position so as to close the switch 96.

Since the firing of the projectiles is controlled electrically, it isnecessary to provide means for supplying electricalenergy to theprojectile withinthe gun. Prior to my invention, it was cue:- tomary. toleave an opening in the wall of some portion of the gun through whichthe electric leads would pass and in order to eliminate such an openingI have provided an improved arrangement for making an electricalconnection from the exterior of the gun to the projectile within thegun. As shown-in Fig. 4, this improved connection somewhat resembles atelephone jack as sembly in that it includes a socket portion generallydesignated by the reference numeral I00 and a removable plug portiongenerally designated by the reference numeral I02. The. socket I00passes through the wall of the breech and is adapted to be welded orotherwise secured to the breech with its inner endsubstantially flushwith the inner surface of the breech tube so as not to interfere withfree movement of the projectile. Each projectile is provided with itsownconventional flexible firing wire which is connected to a plug such asthe plug I02 which is adapted to be inserted into the socket I00 priorto firing of the gun. As shown in Fig. 4, the plug I02 is provided withthe usual form of'contact I04 which makes contact with the complementaryspring contact I06 mounted withinthe socket I00 m the manner shown. Thecontact IDS is electrically connected to the terminal I08 by means '01 etire-bushing I III. The bushing H It serves tosup port's plunger I I2which is provided for ejectingw the plug r 02: after the rocketwhichimills loose from the plug beenfired; The socket I00 is providedadjacent the end of the breech. section as shown and consequentlycambeinsertedor rewhile a conventional projectile in the breech withoutinterfering with the proaiecton By virtue of the above describedarrangement; the ping and: s'oche tserves as a very convenientarrangement for supplying" electrical; energy to projectiles and at thesame time serves as aii emergenc safety switch means in that theelectrical connectionto the projectile may be brokenmerely by pushing inon the plunger H2; Thusthe rojectile cannotbe fir'ed until. the: plug I02 has been insertedi-nto the socket I00 and": the breech has beensecurely latched so to close the circuit through the switch 96 which isalso arranged in thefiring' circuit".

Figs. 2- and 3' of'the drawings show a modified open breech type gunarrangement" which incorper-ates man of the features incorporated in thegun shown in Fig. 1. A g'u-n of the type shown in 2 and 3'- can be usedin combination with a of the type shownin Fig. 1 so as to make itpossible to shoot rockets upwardly and/0'1 rearwardiy from the sameplane. The arrangement shown-in Figs. 2 and 3 is especially suitable ina.

tail gun installation. In this modification, the

blast tube I is curved in the manner shown so as to direct the blastdownwardly through the opening IZI' in the bottomwall [22 or the plane.Thoma-in barrel I24'is directed through an opening" I26 in the tail ofthe plane soas to makeit possible to shoot rearwardl'y'. A hinged breechsection I28 is provided intermediate" the blast section I20 and thebarrel section I24. The sectio'n's I20 and E24 are rigidly connected toone another by means of the channel member I30. The tail gun ispivotally' carried by the U-'-shaped supporting element I32 which isdesigned to swing about the pivot I34. A second support I36 is provided'which is movable both vertically and laterally so as to aim the gun. Thesupport I 36- is substantially U-shaped in form and isprovided with pinmeans I 38 for engagement with slot means I40 in the channel member I30.The support I36 is slidably mounted on the cross harm! and includes adownwardly extendingprojection I 44 which passes through a slot I45 inthe cross bar I42 as shown. The projection I44 is secured to an endlesschain I43 operated by a reversible motor I48 carried by the cross barI42. Operation of the motor I48 serves to move the support r I36 fromone side to the other for aiming purposes. As the support I36 is movedfrom one side to the other, the gun swivels about the pin I34. The crossbar I42 is adapted to b lowered and raised by rotation of the screws I50which cooperate with threaded apertures in the cross bar I42. The screwsI50 are designed to be operated by means of the endless chain I52 whichpasses over sprockets I54 carried at the upper ends of the screws I50.The endless chain I52 is in turn adapted to be operated by a reversiblemotor I56 arranged as shown with a drive sprocket I53 in drivingengagement with the endless chain I52. The motor I56 is carried by thecross bar I50 which in turn is carried by the main frame I62. A portionof the main frame has been broken away; as Shown, so as to more clearlyshow the control mechanism. As best shown in Fig. 3. the breech sectionI28 is secured to the barrel I24- by means of a hinge I15. A latchgenerally desighated: b the reference numeral H6. is providedforlatching'the breech in its fullyclosed position. The latch IE6includes a latching bar" I10 for en.- gagement with the keeper I; Afiring switch I 82 correspondingto the switch 9 6 shown in Fig. 1 hasbeen. provided. as shown.- The breech secti'on I 28' is provided withaflare shield. I84 which prevents any of the blast from escaping intothe interior of the plane at the joint between the breech and the blasttube. A similar flare shield I86 is provided at the hinge end of thebreech. Somewhatsimilar' blast shields are used in the gun shown in Fig.1 but in order to simplify the disclosure in Fig. l the blast shieldsarev omitted.

Since the breech I28 is of rather heavy con.- struction, it is apparentthat considerable forcewould be required to raise the breech sectionfor. reloading purposes unless some provision was made forc'ounterbalancing the weight of the breech section. In Fig. of thedrawings where- I have shown the structural details of the breech used.in Fig. 2, there is shown a counterbalancing means which comprises afirst lever I90- pivot'ally secured tothe chann l member I30 at its oneend and asecond lever I92 pivotally secured to the breech at its one endand pivotally connected at its other end to the first lever I90 by meansof the pin I94. A spring I96 having its one end connected to the pin I94and having its other end anchored to the channel member I30 by means ofthe bolt I98, cooperates with the levers I90 and 92' tocoun-terbalancethe breech so as to make the breech very easy to open and close; Thespring I95 normally biases the breech toopenposi'tion so that theoperator may load aprojecti-l'einto the breech without having to botheraboutholding the breech inthe elevated position while loading theprojectile into the breech. The arrangement of the levers relative tothe spring is such that only a small amount of force is necessary tomove the breech to the closed position even though the spring is underconsiderable tension when the breech is in the closed position. Thecounterbalancing mechanism has been omitted from the diagrammaticdisclosure in Fig. 2 in order not to obscure the rest of the structure"shown therein. Fig. 3 shows the actual construction of thecounterbalancing mechanism used on the gun shown in Fig. 2-. The breechI'2'8' is provided with a socket I00 which is i'zdentical to thecorresponding socket used in While I have shown a single breech of thehinged" type in Figs. 2 and 3 it is obvious that a pair of breechsections arranged somewhat similar'to the breech sections shown in Fig.1 could be provided in the gun shown in Fig. 2. In other words, the'tail gun could be provided with a pair of breech sections in place ofthe single breech section shown.

Flexible diaphragms 200 and 202 have been shown for purposes ofillustration for closing the 74 closing a compartment, a rocket gun,movable means for supporting the gun within said compartment with themuzzle end of the gun projecting through one wall of said compartmentand with the blast end of the gun projectin through a different wall ofsaid compartment-said supporting means including a first traversingmeans for shifting one end of said gun relative to the one wall in afirst plane, and a second traversing means for shifting the other end ofthe gun relative to the difierent wall in a second plane arrangedsubstantially at right angles to said first named plane.

2. In combination with an airplane having walls enclosing a compartment,an open breech gun, an elongated opening in one wall of said compartmentthrough which the muzzle end of said gun projects, an elongated openingarranged transversely with respect tothe first mentioned opening inanother Wall of said compartment through which the blast end of the gunprojects, means for mounting said gun comprising first laterallytraversable pivotal means about which one end portion of said gun pivotsand second laterally traversable pivotal means about which the other endportion of said gun pivots arranged substantially transversely to saidfirst pivotal means, and movable closure means for each of bottom wallof said compartment, said top wall having a transversely extending slotwithin which the upper end of the gun is movable, the bottom wall ofsaidcompartment having a longitudinally an elongated opening throughwhich the one end portion of the gun projects, said second wall portionfor receiving the opposite end portion of the gun being provided with anelongated opening transversely arranged relative to the .elongatedopening in the first wall portion, a first traversing supporting meansmovable relative to the first wall portion for supporting and guidingthe movement of the one end portion of the gun in the opening in thefirst wall portion, and a second traversing supporting means movablesaid openings movable with the adjacent end portions of the gun forallowing for'lateral movement of the gun relative to each of saidopenings.

3. In combination with an airplane having walls enclosing a compartment,an open breech gun, an opening in the top wall of said compartmentthrough which the muzzle end of said gun projects, an opening in thebottom wall of said compartment through which the blast end of said gunprojects, and. means for supporting the gun relative to said compartmentcomprising a first pivotal means movable sidewaysin a first plane and asecond pivotal means movable sideways in a second plane arrangedsubstantially at right angles to said first named plane.

4. In combination with an airplane having a fuselage formed of fixedtop, bottom, side and end walls, an open breech type gun intersecting apair of walls of said airplane and having its muzzle end passing throughan opening in one of said walls and having its blast end passing throughan opening in anotherv of said walls, means for aiming said guncomprising transversely arranged traversing means located adjacentopposite ends of the gun for moving the opposite ends of the guntransversely with respect to each other.

5. In combination with an airplane having a fuselage formed of fixedtop, bottom, side and end walls, one of said walls having an opening,another of said walls having an opening, a rocket type of gun mounted onsaid plane with the opposite ends thereof projecting through saidopenings, means for aiming said gun including transversely arrangedtraversing means located adjacent opposite ends of the gun for movingthe opposite ends of the gun transversely with respect to each other fordistributing the lateral movement of the gun between both ends.

6. In combination with an airplane having a rocket gun compartmenthaving its longitudinal axis extending lengthwise of the plane, an openbreech type gun arranged substantially vertically within saidcompartment with one end projecting through the top wall of saidcompartment and another end projecting through the relative to thesecond wall portion and transversely arranged relative to the firsttraversing means for supporting and guiding the opposite end portion ofthe gun in the opening in the second wall portion.

8. In combination, walls enclosing a compartment, a gun extendingthrough the compartment and having one end portion projecting,

through a first wall portion'and the. opposite end portion projectingthrough a second wall portion, said first wall portion being providedwith an elongated opening through which the one end portion of the gunprojects, said second wall portion for receiving the opposite endportion of the gun being provided with an elongated opening transverselyarranged relative to the elongated opening in the first wall portion, afirst moving and guide means for moving and guiding one end portion ofthe gun from one end to the other end of said elongated opening in saidfirst wall portion, and a second moving and guide means for moving andguiding the opposite end portion of the gun from one end of thetransversely arranged elongated opening in the second wall portion tothe other end of this opening.

CHARLES D. GRAHAM.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 9 1,276,444 Taylor Aug. 20, 19181,311,791 Davis July 29, 1919 1,734,501 Schwoebel Nov. 5, 1929 2,076,256Swalm et al Apr. 6, 1937 2,353,086 Schaaff July 4, 1944 2,451,522 Uhl etal. Oct. 19, 1948 2,460,321 Walker Feb. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 59,668 Germany Nov. 6, 1891 441,084 Great Britain Jan. 13,1936 804.838 France Aug. 10,1936 493,115 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1938

